Wine - Heredad Castelo Alba Crianza

This is the wine we had with our Valentine meal. Once again the Las Vegas Review wine critic recommended another great winner. Here is his review of the wine:

"This is a wine that comes from an estate in central Spain. It blends indigenous grape vatietals with Bordeau varietals .

In the glass, this Crianza is a fine semi-opaque garnet-red color with a deep core going out into a crimson rim definition with medium-high viscosity.

On the nose, the wine seems a bit restrained at first, but then opens up with a barrage of crushed huckleberries, black pepper, spice box, marinara sauce, loganberry juice, ripe red currant fruit, chewing tobacco and earth-driven minerals.

It is a solid mouthful of a wine on the palate with juicy black spicy fruit, peppercorns, tobacco, elderberry juice, huckleberry sauce, ripe red plums and loads of chewy minerals. The tannins are soft and silky through the midpalate, and the wine appears measured and balanced despite its initial restraint. This just means that you should open it up a good hour before consumption. The finish is just great, with yet more pepper, crushed ripe brambleberries and good structure.

This is a food wine and demands something easy to go along with it. Think pizza or a simply grilled steak.

It should drink well through 2009.

Wine: Heredad Castelo Alba Crianza

Grape: Tempranillo (50 percent), garnacha (25 percent), mazuela (10 percent), cabernet sauvignon (15 percent)

Region: Carinena, central Spain

Vintage: 2004

Price: $11.99

Red Pillar Wine - good value

Each weekend we try to highlight a new wine that we have tasted. We are lucky to have a great wine reviewer in our local paper that does all the hard work of tasting wines and then writes about the best. No more buying disappointments. Each wine that Gil Lempert-Schwarz recommends has been fantastic. Our local wine shop has a special area of the store where all recommended Gil Lempert-Schwarz wine recommendations are displayed. Here is the article that Gil wrote on this wine.

"While there's no shortage of great wines in Australia, few winemakers there achieve the kind of superstardom that Chris Ringland has. His wines, always pure shiraz monsters, sell for upward of $2,000 per bottle in the best vintages.

So I was surprised to find out that he's the consulting winemaker on a project dubbed Pillar Box Red, in reference to the old English mailboxes. At less than $10, this wine is truly priced to sell, so be sure to jump on it.

In addition to the great price, the wine is sealed with the increasingly popular screw cap, which will ensure that you can enjoy another glass or two the day after opening it.

In the glass, Pillar Box Red wine is a deep crimson-red color with a dense, opaque core, going out into a fine, garnet-red rim definition with streaks of ruby and high viscosity.

On the nose, the wine offers soft, ripe, freshly crushed black cherries, blueberries, creme de cassis, almost buttery spicy components of vanilla, raspberry zest, creme brulee, licorice root, eucalyptus leaves, phenolics and toasted oak references.

In the mouth, it coats the palate with ripe black and red berry fruits, cherries jubilee, blackberry liqueur, strawberry jam, cassis, boysenberry sorbet, raspberry coulis and licorice components. The midpalate is fresh, with a wonderfully rounded medley of red berries, black currants and brambleberry fruit, then shows superb balance with tannins kept in harmony by the fruit and the alcohol, going into the tasty, long finish that lingers with red licorice and cherry liqueur.

Pillar Box Red is a nicely complex and layered wine with good structure and density. It shows just what can be done with high-quality purchased fruit, although this could easily be known as the "second label" of the great wines otherwise made by Ringland. It should drink well for four to five years and pair up nicely with lamb chops cooked rare on the grill."

Wine: Henry's Drive Pillar Box Red

Grapes: Shiraz (50 percent), cabernet sauvignon (42 percent), merlot (8 percent)

Region: Padthaway, Southern Australia

Vintage: 2006

Price: $9.99

Wine - Silvertop Malbec 2005

We tried another new wine this weekend, Silvertop Malbec 2005. It is produced in the foothills of the Andes. This is what our local wine expert said about the wine in the local paper. "Silvertop is from a classic bodega located in the Mendoza region, which also happens to be one of the world's largest wine growing areas. The malbec vines there are on average about 30 years of age and produce good earthy and spicy wines quite typical of the varietal.

In the glass, this Silvertop Malbec is a lightish semi-opaque garnet-red color with a firm red to slightly tinged rim definition and medium viscosity. On the nose, there is an immediate whiff of freshly baked cherry pie, fruit tart and blueberry coulis, followed by phenols, red ripe fruits, red plums, some herbs and hints of tobacco and stony minerals.

In the mouth, the wine shows soft, ripe red and black cherry fruit, quite pure blackcurrant character, Morrello cherry juice and no hints of oak whatsoever, meaning it comes across really clean with the fruits through the mid-palate, showing nice tannin structure. The finish is medium-long and has hints of minerality.

Altogether a wonderfully rounded, yet fruit-forward wine that is well made and highly recommended for its tremendous value. Try it with a traditional Argentinean carne asada. Drink it now through 2008."

Wine: Silvertop Malbec 2005

Region: Mendoza, Argentina

Vintage: 2005

Price: $ 5.99

Grape: Malbec (100 percent)

Arbazo del Toro Carinena 2006

Abrazo del Toro Cariñena 2006 from Spain is a very nice, soft, dry, medium-weight, fruity table red, tasting of cherry. It’s from the Cariñena region of Spain, made from 80% Garnacha (Grenache) grapes and 20% Tempranillo grapes. It was excellent with hamburgers tonight. Another great value from Trader Joe’s, at way under $10. (Abrazo del Toro means hug of the bull.)

Veo Grande Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 - Chile

Veo Grande Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 tells you immediately that it’s no ordinary Cab. The nose is full of smoky wood, and it almost climbs out of the glass on its own. The flavor isn’t average, either - it’s a well-balanced mix of blackberries and cherries, oak, herbs, and chewy tannins. The spicy finish goes on and on.

The Wine Commonsewer tasted the 2004 vintage, concluding “It’s not a sleeper but it’s a good budget wine that you can enjoy with a Southern Italian meal or grilled beef.”

This is a great tasting wine that Tim and I continue going back to.

Blackstone Merlot

The signature style of Blackstone is an integrated Merlot with rich fruit; surrounded by elegant creaminess, supple oak flavors and firm tannins. This Merlot is friendly, flavorful and balanced, encouraging the marriage between food and wine. Enjoy at home or in fine restaurants with a variety of flavorful cuisines." - Winemaker

Smoking Loon California Merlot

Notes from bottle:

This Merlot is dark garnet in color and has aromas of fresh basil, blueberries, and Bing cherries. With good richness without being too heavy on the palate, the flavors of fresh cherry pie, sweet plum, and soft cinnamon spiked cranberry dressing finishing with notes of rich, vanilla French oak and delicate cherry and strawberry flavors.

This wine is packed with flavor yet still has a delicate body. This is a versatile wine that can be served with bruschetta over toasted French bread or cherry preserves over Brie served with water crackers as an appetizer. You could serve this wine with salmon over wild rice with toasted almonds, grilled chicken on top of a spinach salad with walnuts and dried cranberries, or thyme roasted pork chops over mashers.

Full House - Cabernet Sauvignon

Tim and I like a good bottle of wine and we normally don't spend more than 20.00 We have come up with a list of what we think are great wines to try which are on the side of my postings.

We have a wine critic who writes for the Las Vegas paper. A couple of weeks ago he wrote a review on a cheap wine that sounded so good we bought a couple of bottles at our local liquor store. Last night we tried a glass of Full House. At first the wine tasted too intense and then we remembered the article said we should let the wine sit for 30 minutes before drinking. Once we did this the wine mellowed and tasted much better. This wine is a keeper on our list. I thought the picture on the wine bottle was fitting for Vegas. Too bad we can't carry this wine home, it would have made a nice present in the Christmas exchange.

Here is a scaled down review of the wine:

"While everyone else is busy with the official start to the holiday shopping season, you should be stocking up on Full House Central Coast Cabernet Sauvignon, so that you have enough to drink through this year and next. Not only is the wine deliciously drinkable, but it is on the market for less than $3. I did a double-take when this was revealed to me following a blind tasting of about 25 cabernet-based wines from California. I had it ranked well over several wines that run $25 to $30, so the value here is nothing short of astonishing. This one really takes the prize for value of the year, which might even merit consideration as wine of the year.

In the glass, Full House Cabernet Sauvignon is a medium ruby-red color with a fine dark core going out into a clean pinkish rim definition with light viscosity. The wine immediately fills your palate and coats your tongue with intensely concentrated sweet black fruit components, crushed blackberries, creme de cassis and ripe Bing cherry flavors.

It is a relatively intense wine that needs opening about 30 minutes before drinking. Full House Central Coast Cabernet Sauvignon is a wonderful companion to pretty much anything you can cook up with meat and pasta this time of year, but don't be shy about just drinking it by the glass on its own. Drink it now through 2008, and serve it at about 65 degrees Fahrenheit."

red belly black

Varietal	Syrah
Category	Red Wine
Region	Australia : South Australia
Producer	Angove's
Alcohol	14.0%

Deep purple with brooding red hues, this rich, full bodied wine shows ripe plum, cherry, and licorice fruit on the nose. This opulence is reinforced by the soft sweet notes of American and French oak. On the palate the wine is soft and full, showing fruit flavours and ripe tannins, giving a long satisfying finish. This wine is ideal with your favourite red meat or hearty pasta dishes.